Free Republic

Look what we have here! The unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 114,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in health care and in transportation and warehousing but changed little in most other major industries. This is rather amusing; +114,000 is fewer than the working-age population growth in the household survey (206,000) and yet unemployment decreased. Huh? The household survey's unadjusted numbers, however, show some rather interesting figures, none of which make sense. "Not in labor force" increased by 386,000 while "employed" increased by 775,000 a net...

Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows 114,000 new jobs in September and a drop in the rate of unemployment from 8.1% to 7.8%. As 114,000 new jobs are not sufficient to stay even with population growth, the drop in the unemployment rate is the result of not counting discouraged workers who are defined away as “not in the labor force.” According to the BLS, “In September, 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force.” These individuals “wanted and were available for work,” but “they were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched...

Once upon a time --- back in the "good old days" when jobs were considerably more plentiful --- the monthly unemployment figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) were barely noted by the majority of Americans. (Assuming, that is, that they were aware of them at all.) If unemployment is down around five percent and it goes up to 5.2 in July and down to 4.8 in October, nobody notices. As Ed Morrissey pointed out yesterday, such shifts can be accounted for by seasonal variations in labor demand, localized effects in particular industries or, as we probably saw...

In a heated debate with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch doubled-down on his claim that the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey released Friday, which showed a spike in employment and a drop in the unemployment metric from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent, is bogus. Welch explained his rationale to the MSNBC host: “We had 600,000 government jobs added in the last two months. We had 873,00 jobs by a household survey — which is a total estimate — from 50,000 phone calls. Of those, 600,000 were temporary workers. Chris, these numbers are all a series of...

Indulge me for a quick moment....Looking at the jobs report today, we see the household survey showing a massive 583,000 jump in the number of part-time workers, the largest since 1983. As part of the explanation, workers commented they took part-time because of "slack business conditions or the only jobs they could find."So why, in September 2012 would this increase happen?I am not one to believe the numbers were faked. Nor do I necessarily believe, though I do not discount, the survey process being flawed to the point of causing this increase. I actually think it is because of a...

~snip~ Buried in the Friday's jobs report is evidence that a disturbing trend continues: the creation of more part-time jobs, many of them low-wage, taking the place of solid middle-class careers. Positions in sectors like manufacturing continued to decline last month, replaced by new jobs in the healthcare, warehousing and retail industries. A lot of these jobs don't allow workers to rack up enough hours to earn healthcare benefits – let alone break out of poverty. The key data in the new report can be found in a table called "A-8". It shows that more workers are in stuck in...

At least two economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have contributed to President Barack Obama’s campaign. Harley Frazis of Bethesda, MD, has contributed at least $2,000 to Obama and $9,000 to the Democratic National Convention over the last three election cycles.

Suspicion about the federal government's September jobs report has fallen on Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, who appeared on CNBC this morning and defended the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), claiming--falsely--that upward revisions of 86,000 jobs were from the private sector. In fact, the new number is entirely accounted for by upwards revisions to state and federal government payrolls. The BLS reported that while only 114,000 jobs were created in September--which would have translated into a rise in unemployment from 8.1% to 8.2%--the unemployment rate fell dramatically to 7.8%. That unusual drop is the fastest in nearly...

When did the BLS start reporting Unemployment using the U3 Tables? Was there a time when Unemployment was reported as just people out of work? (More like the U6 tables) I need to know for some stuff I am writing but I can't seem to find anything credible when I Google such. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Where have all the workers gone? Since Barack 0bama has taken office, the population of the United States has grown by over nine million people, yet according to the United States Department of Labor, the labor force has only grown by only 1.5 million over the same period. The fact is, the DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics does not do accurate counting of unemployed people. It's numbers do not come from the State's unemployment offices. All of it's numbers are calculated from a sample survey conducted each month that includes less than 0.02% of our country's population. How valid are...

Two new reports on Thursday provided some optimism the jobs market is improving. First-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level since May, the first positive sign in weeks that layoffs may be slowing. Separately, payroll provider ADP says private-sector businesses added 176,000 jobs to their payrolls in June, better than the revised total of 136,000 jobs for May. The two reports come a day ahead of the closely watched monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be watching that report closely for signs of how...

The Obama administration on Wednesday acknowledged a wide-ranging definition of “green jobs” that includes bus driver, bicycle-shop clerk and other unexpected lines of employment, which the chairman of the GOP-led House oversight committee said is being done for “clearly political purposes.” GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, made the assertion during a hearing on how the administration counts so-called green jobs and the Labor Department’s recent change to how reporters can access key unemployment reports and other information. The Labor Department "has jeopardized the integrity of employment data in some cases for...

According to the BLS, employers in the U.S. added fewer jobs than forecast in March. The 120,000 increase in payrolls , the fewest in five months, followed a revised 240,000 gain in February. Expectations were for 205,000. My ex-colleague from Deutsche Bank, Joe LaVorgna, called for +250,000. Unemployment fell to 8.2%. And U6 unemployment fell to 14.5%. Still, 14.5% is still numbing. But the most revealing employment rate, the employment to population ratio, fell to 58.5%. That means that the nonemployment ratio rose to 41.5%. And 164,000 Americans quit looking for work. And teen unemployment rose to 25%! But that...

Jobless Stats Reveal Disparities As economy Starts To Recover March 09, 2012 While the Labor Department reports a surge in private-sector hiring and the nation's unemployment rate holding steady at 8.3 percent, a closer look at the numbers paints a less flattering picture of the country's post-recession growth. The latest report for February shows lingering economic disparities among different segments of the population. And, as has been the case for decades, the unemployment rate used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not tell the whole story. Counting only those Americans who are actively looking for work, the jobless rate...

The topic of BLS propaganda seasonal adjustments has been discussed extensively here especially in light of January's NFP beat. We'll leave it at that. However, we were rather surprised to note that the Census Bureau may have also ramped up its seasonal adjustment "fudge factoring" because when looking at the January headline retail sales data, which naturally was a smoothly continuous line on a Seasonally Adjusted basis, rising from $399.9 billion in December to $401.4 billion in January, something rather odd happened in the Unadjusted data set: the plunge from $459.8 billion in December to $361.4 billion in January, or...

After countless attempts to discredit or defend Friday's jobs report, we can all agree on one thing: The data is complicated. So complicated that the BLS could make the economy look better than it was and no one would be sure. Former Reagan budget director David Stockman said as much in an email to Bruce Krasting, in response to Krasting's criticism of the jobs report. Stockman writes: "If you spend a little time with these numbers you will know that they are being made up." Here's the email (via Wall Street Examiner): Bruce– Great job on the Summers catch, but...

It's an election year, and the MSM wants to make sure Obama looks good. So they will repeat any lie the administration feeds the public without ever pointing out the truth. So when the administration released the news that America has added 243,000 new jobs in January, and that the unemployment rate fall to 8.3%, instead of questioning it, they repeat it as fact. The problem is that the MSM is not reporting that the number of people out of work who fell off the benefit rolls. See, the government reports are written to make politicians look good, and Obama...

ANALYSIS/OPINION: When it comes to the unemployment rate, it’s nice to be president. Sure, it wasn’t so nice for President Obama in October 2009, when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics declared the rate was 10 percent. But exactly a year from Election Day 2012, the rate began a precipitous plunge, first to 8.9 percent, then the next month, to 8.7, then to 8.5. And just last week, the BLS said the rate had fallen all the way down to 8.3 percent. So, spectacular news for the president, yes? And fantastic news for America, right? Uh, yes. And absolutely no....

I Can’t Take It Anymore! When Will The Government Quit Putting Out Fraudulent Employment Statistics?Michael SnyderFeburary 3, 2012 On Friday, the entire financial world celebrated when it was announced that the unemployment rate in the United States had fallen to 8.3 percent. That is the lowest it has been since February 2009, and it came as an unexpected surprise for financial markets that are hungry for some good news. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls jumped by 243,000 during the month of January. You can read the full employment report right here. Based on this news, pundits...